Fruit machine programs are ten-a-penny and they really need to be something special in order to grip and hold the player's attention.

They are so simple that the Texas manual gives such a program as a graphics demonstration.

This version, alas, has only moderately good graphics, no documentation, and terrible on-screen instruction.

You need to be a Maigret or a Holmes to understand some of the options. 'Shift for Up' actually means that you should use the Shift key with the numbers 1, 2 and 3 for nudging by reading between the lines: "Reels 1 2 3".

You start by choosing an initial stake of up to 990 pence. Try entering 435 and it will be thrown back at you with a haughty "this machine only accepts 10p coins". Why you aren't told this in the first place is beyond me!

There is something of a Catch 22 here in that if you like real fruit machines then this game won't appeal to you, and if you don't mind the absence of hard cash the program won't hold your interest anyway.

P.B.